So Much For Your Promises
by more-like-reyna
Summary: An AU where Nathaniel lives. A oneshot for my Nathaniel mourning soul in which Nathaniel and Kitty end up together and get the happy ending they deserve.


**SO MUCH FOR YOUR PROMISES:**

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_**AU: When Kitty says "So much for your promises" and no one responds. Instead, Nathaniel does respond.**_

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**I'm so sorry for not posting earlier but MS Word got screwed up. And my dad was too busy (Read:LAZY) to fiX the computer. And I had exams and I'm in the tenth grade now! No Hooray! 10th sucks. In India atleast. I finally got the time and I rewrote this fic in Notepad. I finished Bartimaeus trilogy in December and started the story then. And now, its March. Gods, Nathaniel's death was almost as bad as Fred Weasley's or (SPOILER ALERT) Jason Grace's. I went into Legit Mourning-black clothes and everything. I finished the book in a free period in school and started crying and my classmates are like"WTF?" and my friends are like'Sweetie, its OK.' **

**OK, I won't bore you with mundane details of my life no more. Here it goes(Sorry if it sucks) :**

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** NATHANIEL:**

I was dead, I was a 100 percent sure. But why did it hurt so much? Was this my punishment for torturing Bartimaeus, not letting him go to the Other Place, reducing his essence to that almost as weak a an insignificant mite. I heaved a groan. Wait, how could I groan if i was dead? Was I, somehow, alive? I experimented by trying to lift a finger. I was suprised to see that I could. I tried with all my fingers-all intact and mobile. Well, that proved I was alive. Now, I needed sight. I needed to see. I tried to open my eyes but it felt like they were lined with lead. I almost gave up. But then, I thought of Kitty and I knew I _had_ to go on. I had promised-to her. With a Herculean effort, I opened my eyes. Everything was dark. I blinked my eyes a few time. Still dark. I tried turning my head up, but I immediately bumped it on something. Judging by the slightly metallic sound that echoed from it, I supposed it was iron. No wonder my head hurt. My immediate reflex was to rub my head with my hand. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move it. With some desperate movements of my fingers, I figured it was trapped under a piece of iron. The other hand, I tested and realized had the same fate. Slowly, I manoeuvred my hands from under the iron pieces. As I finally freed one of my hands, I rolled to the side. A searing pain erupted across my side. My mind felt light and I could feel myself losing concsiousness.

"No," I steeled myself. "Kitty. For Kitty." I envisioned her in my mind, face lined, hair gray-streaked but beautiful in every way and that memory brought me back. With some effort, I freed the other hand. In a matter of minutes, my legs were free.

Now that I had use of all intact, free but painful limbs, I assessed the situation. I was surrounded by debris. It was all dark but my eyes were now accustomed to it. I could make out the faint outlines of the debris all around me. I squinted my eyes for a crack of light, even a minute one would suffice. I was facing my right side,lying on the side of my body, the other injured part facing the air. I slowly turned till I was lying on my injured side. I faced the left side and yes! I saw a tiny glimmer of light. A tiny one but I pushed at it. I don't know if it's just my imagination. I don't. All I saw was a chance to see Kitty again.

My hands worked furiously, removing the muck around. My mind, meanwhile, was trying to block out the pain. After what seemed like months, I moved the last bit of debris, making a hole as wide as a suitcase. I moved my face towards the light, gulping in the air. My eyes were shut tight. The light seemed too harsh after the seemingly endless darkness. I gingerly extended an arm out of the hole and I felt the sunlight on my skin. It was like experiencing the sun for the first time-wondrous.

With whatever I could muster of my last dredges of strength and will-power, I moved the blocks only to extricate myself from the rubble with one last heave. I heard footsteps coming my way. I needed to tell them that I was here. I was still shielded from view. I tried to lift up my head so that they could atleast glimpse me. I tried but I failed, my head falling face-first on the ground. Pain coursed through my face. As I looked down, I noticed the ground was black and crisp, scattered with glass shards and purple threads of residual magic.

"Which fool would come here?" the last sane part of my brain thought.

The footsteps came to a halt. I assumed, whoever it was surveying the rubble. After a while, a voice spoke, "So much for your promises." Then the footsteps started again, fading.

No. No, it couldn't be Kitty. It couldn't be. I was delirious. But I would know her-anywhere. I found my voice finally and gasped, "Kitty?"

The fading footsteps stopped.I managed another gasp of her name. The footsteps grew louder. I tried to move but my body point-blank refused.

I heard a harried voice scream, "NATHANIEL!"

I whispered back, "Kitty, here."

I don't know if whoever it was was Kitty. I didn't care. I was fast losing consciousness when I felt a pair of hands cup my cheeks. With the last bit of energy, I murmured, "Kitty,"-then all went black.  
*******

**KITTY:**

It had been two days since _that_ day. The day I found out I had lost everything. The day I lost what little I had also. After a tiring day of meetings, I needed to go. Go to see that cursed place. I needed to see where _he_ lay.

I had made my way to St. Jame's Park. The place was a disaster zone. The ground was black, the residual magic was thick. Glass pieces littered the floor. I clutched the Amulet of Samarkhand tighter. I made my way to the center. Here lay the greatest magician and the greatest djinni I would ever know. Here lay the remains of my already wrecked heart. After a while, I managed to say, "So much for your promises."

I turned around and started walking back. That's when I heard a gasp-saying my name. And that voice...No, it couldn't be. But someone was there. I stopped walking back. Then there was another gasp of "Kitty" and I knew then. It was him. I HAD to find him. But where was he?

The gasps sounded weak, frail even. I was not going to lose him! My heart was going a million kilometres an hour. I searched through random piles of debris, but he wasn't there.

I screamed, "NATHANIEL!" I poured all my feelings into that one yell. If he was unconscious, I hoped it would be enough to wake him up. I heard a faint whisper. I don't know what otherworldy forces were helping me but I knew what he said-"Kitty, here." And somehow, I knew where the sound came from. I ran, ran like I had never run before, to the source of the sound.

And there, behind an enormous mound of rubble, Nathaniel. But I couldn't glimpse Bartimaeus. Oh Gods, no... But I had Nathaniel and I needed to save him. I cupped my hands on his cheeks. He murmured, "Kitty" before fainting.

I draped his arms over my neck and pulled him up. I grabbed his waist, made sure his hands were around my neck and started dragging him. It was slow progress. He was heavy-for such a thin person. His hands were limp around my neck and constantly moved due to the movement of me dragging me. And unfortunately, his hands would end up in uncomfortable places like the top of my chest.

I muttered, "The poor fellow is unconscious. And dying. Get your head under control, Kitty!"

I made my way out of St. Jame's Park and headed to the main road. I flagged a taxi down and instructed him to drive as fast as he could to the nearest hospital. Nathaniel's head lolled onto my shoulder as I gently removed his hands from around my neck and placed them on his lap. I took one of his hands in mine and caressed it gently with my thumb.

That's when I made a silent vow to myself that I was _not_ going to let Nathaniel die. He wasn't escaping without his scolding! As I looked at Nathaniel, a bittersweet feeling enveloped me. Bitter because Bartimaeus was gone and sweet because atleast Nathaniel was still there and that was better than nothing.  
*******

**NATHANIEL:**

I sat up groggily. Where am I? I slowly opened my eyes and rubbed it with my hands. I was in a white room...and I was on a ..bed? When did I get here? Last thing that I remembered was trying to get someone-who-sounded-like-Kitty's attention. And now I was here. But where was here? I opened my eyes wider. I was surrounded by white drapes and a distinct smell of antisceptic and disinfectant wafted in. Ah! I was in the hospital. I extended an arm and pulled back the drapes. That small task itself tired me, like a day of hard labour. I turned my head slowly to see rows of hospital beds. Immediately, a nurse scurried to my side.

She said, in a burst, "Oh! You're awake, Mr. Mandrake! Do you need anything? Is your pillow too flat? Should I hang up extra drapes? Tell me what can I do."

She _must_ be a commoner. Despite their protests, most commoners were still kind of subservient. I was about to deny her suggestions when my stomach rumbled. I realised I had not eaten since the morning of the play. I didn't know how long I had been out!

I looked at her pleadingly and requested, "Could I have something to eat, please?"

She squeaked, "Of course, !" and positively ran away. She returned a few minutes later and deposited a plate on my lap. It had two or three sandwiches on it. With a quick nod of thanks, I gobbled up the food and set it on a side I was eating, the nurse informed me that a lady had visited me every day. She had been the one to bring me in. But the nurse couldn't tell me her name because "client confidentiality" or something. But I was fairly sure that it was Kitty. Most probably.

After that, I tried to stay awake and wait for Kitty. I knew she would come. But exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep, my dreams filled with a sarcastic albeit caring voice in my head and a girl who's aura transcended all seven planes.  
*******

**KITTY:**

I entered the General Hospital at sharp 5 in the evening, same as always. I walked up the stairs slowly, each step laboured. As I entered the ward for Magical Injuries, the nurse in-charge, Jennifer, hurried over to me. She said, excitedly, "Ms. Jones, Mr. Mandrake awoke today!"

"What!" I exclaimed in suprise. I rushed to his bedside. There he was-lying in that bed, smelling of antisceptic. The drapes were half covered and there was an empty plate with crumbs on the side table.

He had done it. He had survived. I breathed a sigh of relief. A knot of worry I didn't know about dissolved in my chest. I gazed imploringly at the nurse. With a knowing smile, she departed.

I gazed at Nathaniel's face. His hair had grown to a relatively messy mop of hair. His eyes were lined and had bags under them. His lip was cut and was still a bit bloody. There were cuts on his pale skin. I could see the stitches on his torso as only a translucent sheet covered his bare torso.

With a bit of effort, I forced my eyes back to his face. His face was as placid as ever. All my emotions were coursing through me with ferocity. Maybe it was those two years of completely hiding my emotions, but now they were running amok. I remembered my hurt and pain when I found out that he and Bartimaeus had died. I had began to like him only that night, but by the time he went into that Glass Palace with a a promise on his lips- a promise that he would come back, I knew my feelings to be deeper.

A single tear trickled down my cheek. I'm not sure if it was a tear of happiness or sadness. Relief-more likely. The tear fell on his cheek. With one gentle stroke,, I wiped it off. I slowly ruffled his hair and pushed it back, away from his face. I planted a small kiss on his cheek and got up from the small corner of the bed I was sitting on and turned to leave.

That's when I heard a small moan and a voice saying, "Kitty?"

I turned immediately and almost flung myself on him. I managed (barely) to sit next to him quietly.

I whispered, "Nathaniel."  
He replied, "Kitty, I..."

I interrupted with a small punch on his shoulder, "HOW COULD YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT?! Do you even have a tiny idea how worried I was? And then, when I found you in that wreckage-"

"It was you?" He sounded incredulous.  
"Yes, it was me. Don't interrupt. I found you and you were SO close to dying. Did you even know _how_ worried I was?"

He looked at me with those big, dark eyes-full of remorse and pleading and said, "I'm sorry."

Well, I couldn't yell at him after that. I just looked at him and he just looked at me. After a few seconds, he tried to get up and sit, but immediately started groaning. I was shaken out of my reverie and I helped him get up.

Coughing, he said, "I'm fine. I'm fine."

Yeah right, and I was an imp. But I said nothing. After a minute or two of just looking at each other, I started slowly, "Nat, what about.." My voice cracked but I continued, "What about Bartimaeus?"

He looked at his palms and shrugged gently. He muttered, "I dismissed him before the...before the Staff broke. He must think I'm dead."

I smiled. Despite all their bickering, they really did care for each other. I smirked the words out(literally), "How charming! You really did care about him, didn't you?"

He retorted, "Of course not! He just tended to mess everything up so I dismissed him!"

I laughed and replied, "Yeah, sure!"

He glanced at me and noted the mischievous twinkle in my eye. He knew he couldn't fool me. Then, he shifted his gaze to the sheets pooling at his lap. He only then realized that his torso was bare. Looking at him looking at his torso, I looked at it. And I looked at it. For a skinny person, he was in quite good shape and God, it was hard to tear my eyes away but I managed. I was determined NOT to look at his bare chest. Nope.

Finally, he yelped, "Where's my shirt?"  
I said, matter-of-factly, "Stitches on your side, literally. Needed to remove it."

He frowned but then caught sight of my concentrated face, trying my hardest not to look his way. He smirked and turned my face to face his. My eyes met his and all the confidence, suaveness, humour, everything went out.

He stuttered, "Kitty, I have to tell you something."  
I tried my best don't- care tone but I think he could hear the quaver in my voice, "Yes?"  
He stuttered again, "K-Kitty, i-it is qu-quite poss-possible that I, I may, most pro-probably li-"

I cut him off with a kiss. His lips were soft and his breath tasted like pears, for some reason. I was kissing him and his lips were moving too, kissing me back. I slowly pulled back. He had a look on his face that I had never seen on him before-pure joy. I think it was mirrored in my face too. I could tell from his eyes that we both had stolen each other's first kisses and I knew we didn't give a damn about it.

I said, in barely a whisper, "Nathaniel-"

He pulled me back into another kiss. So much for his promises. He delivered. All was well.  
*******

**NATHANIEL:**

It was my first kiss and I don't know how my lips were moving and how we were even kissing but only word can describe Kitty's lips against mine, how our lips moved in sync, how soft they were and just how amazing it all was-bliss. I was kissing Kitty Jones. That's all that matters. Except for the fact that I promised. And I delivered. Amazingly, might I add. All was well.

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**And that's it. Thank you for reading. Love you all. And yes, as soon as MS Word is fixed I will update Jackie Molotov's Story (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LOVVVVVVVVEEE! I LOVE U SO MUCH). It's going to be 4 chapters-with chapter 1 completed. And I'm working on a Jeyna story. Which may also take time as half of it is in MS Word (UGH!) But I will do a Jily story so watch out for that..**

**Same routine-read and review. Please (insert Puppy dog eyes and pouty face). Reviewing takes 10 seconds but it makes my day! Flaming sucks, so try not to. Constructive criticism appreciated.**

**~more-like-reyna**


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